On Saturday, July 1, 1882, Gussie Ellergood of Carlisle, Illinois, died in a St. Louis hospital. She had been admitted the previous Wednesday after having taken sick. Her death was due to a botched abortion. Gussie was a servant working in the home of Dr. Edgar Park. She made a deathbed statement naming Dr. Robert McWilliams as her abortionist, though McWilliams denied any knowledge of her.